Kenella Drifter Rods
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Drifter rods (also called drifter drill rods, club rods, or drifting rods) are specialised components used in top hammer percussive drilling systems, particularly on underground drill rigs (like jumbos) for tunnelling, drifting, underground mining, and rock bolting.
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Design: They are typically single-piece (integral) hollow steel rods, often with a hexagonal cross-section for better torque transmission and rigidity. One end connects to the shank adapter (via a coupling sleeve or directly), and the other end threads directly to the drill bit.
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Common thread types: R25, R28, R32, T38, T45, T51 (R-series for smaller/shorter holes, the T-series are for heavier duty drilling work.
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Lengths: Usually shorter (e.g., 1.5 – 4.3 meters) compared to extension rods, as they are optimised for precision rather than extreme depth.
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Materials: High-strength alloy steel, heat-treated to withstand intense shock loading, vibration, torsion, and high-impact forces from the hydraulic or pneumatic drifter (rock drill).
Did you know?
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These rods operate in one of the most punishing environments on Earth. They must balance between stiffness (to resist bending in hard, fractured rock) and just enough flexibility to survive the constant vibration and occasional misalignment.
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Get the metallurgy or heat treatment wrong, and they fatigue, twist into helical shapes, or snap thereby halting production in costly underground real estate
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Applications
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Drifting and tunnelling: Developing horizontal or inclined tunnels.
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Underground mining: Production drilling, cross-cutting, and rock bolting for ground support.
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Short to medium holes: Where precision and durability under high impact are critical (as opposed to deep bench or long-hole drilling).
Advantages
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While all rods are not made the same, the Kenella range of drifter and tunnelling rods do have a performance edge and compatibility advantages over our competitors. You will find our price/performance ratio is very comparable to the current industry favorites.
Product Range
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Common thread types are: R25, R28, R32, which are all used in tunnelling and underground mining.
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Available in hex shape and round shape rods, these rods allow drill options for both underground mining and on-surface applications..
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